Aria Shahrokhshahi

Aria’s a British-Iranian photographer from Nottingham who has spent the last few years documenting the war in Ukraine. He first went on holiday in 2019, and has been going back to spend winters there ever since. As the war has unfolded and fighting has intensified, Aria has been working and volunteering with @base_ua_ngo and @livyj_bereh . The day before he left for Ukraine again, Aria invited us to his studio to take a closer look at how he gets things done. Want to know more? Hit the link in bio. Interview @tiffany.l2 @alexa.venuss Edit @k.aigillespie

Cowboy Suo, Mexico, 2022

#womenlifefreedom This is the most important film I’ve ever made. New work for @britishvogue A very special moment Thank you to everyone at @britishvogue for trusting and allowing me to tell the stories of these amazing women, and to try and raise awareness about what is happening. As an Iranian, It’s been one of the greatest honours of my life. I feel completely blessed to have had to opportunity to tell these woman’s stories and by doing so, try to show more of the world what’s happening in Iran, and what the people are facing. Featuring Elika Ashoori Mahsa Alimardani Roxanna Vatandoust Shadi Sadr Shiva Mahbobi Directed by @ariamark Director of Photography @kaiblamey_ Editor @lainyblack and @jjh_foster Vogue's Director of Creative Production @therealminniecarver Vogue's Producer @georginiabutz Producer @kateharmonyparkerduncan Production Agency @objectandanimal Stylist @honeysweetelias Hairstylist @alippirzadeh Make-Up Artist @lizdaxauer Set Designer @stefanialucchesi Colourist @jasoncolourist Musician @sonia.gorji

LONDON: Join us this Saturday 5.30pm at @peckham24 for an special conversation between @ariamark and Loose Joints co-founder Lewis Chaplin about the process and collaboration behind WET GROUND — Shahrokhshahi’s debut monograph exploring Ukrainian identity from inside Russia’s full-scale invasion. Afterwards, we have a real treat: a sunset performance of Ukrainian folk song by @hromada_collective , a London-based Ukrainian folk singing collective. Presented in collaboration with @biblioteka_library 📍Saturday 16 May 5.30pm, Sunset Studios, 33 Copeland Road, London SE15 3SN. We are also at @offprint_projects London all weekend, see you there!

In the @guardian today! Births, Deaths and a First Kiss: Life Near the Frontline in Ukraine. @ariamark speaks to the Guardian about the web of stories and experiences behind his breakthrough debut WET GROUND – from nightclubs on the frontline and ancient solstice rituals to a newborn baby on the day of an unprecedented ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. The full photo essay is online now – Discover Shahrokhshahi’s WET GROUND now at loosejoints.biz

NEW YORK: @ariamark launches WET GROUND on the Lower East Side this Friday 24 April in an exhibition curated by @timobarber opening at Rectangle Room at @primaryphotographic running through 9 May. Shahrokhshahi’s seven-year study of Ukrainian society examines the continuities and fragments of everyday life under the full-scale Russian invasion, unmasking the spectacle and theatre of war in favour of something more intimate and engaged. Celebrate this remarkable series with Aria and ourselves from 6–9pm, 113 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002 or find him at our booth at The Photography Show by @aipadphoto signing Saturday at 4pm! Discover WET GROUND now at loosejoints.biz, shipping worldwide.

Let @ariamark take you behind the scenes of WET GROUND — a seven-year portrait of Ukrainian identity made while living, working and volunteering in the territory, against the backdrop of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Shot in stark black and white, WET GROUND is made from inside the war rather than in response to it, capturing the highs and lows of everyday life in a country reconfigured by conflict. In this narrated flipthrough, Aria walks you through his background to the project and the visual, political, personal stories that shaped it. Discover WET GROUND now at loosejoints.biz, shipping worldwide. London launch Friday 17 April at @thephotographersgallery @tpgbookshop , see you there!

LIFE DURING WARTIME: Aria Shahrokhshahi’s new monograph WET GROUND traces the impact of conflict on everyday society in Ukraine, and the sharp contrasts between normality and warfare. Shahrokhshahi’s meticulous images move between tight, dramatic portraits, where subjects appear like characters on stage, and expansive, desolate landscapes that map the terrain under pressure. Rendered in sharp contrast and punctuated by bursts of flash, WET GROUND carries a heightened tension, as moments of action and response slip out of context against stillness and continuity, emphasising the unpredictability of war. Discover WET GROUND by @ariamark now at loosejoints.biz shipping worldwide

NEW! We are thrilled to announce WET GROUND, an activist portrait of Ukrainian identity by @ariamark . Since 2019, British-Iranian artist Aria Shahrokhshahi has documented the contradictions and continuities of Ukrainian life as the full-scale Russian invasion reshaped the country. Made from inside the war rather than in response to it, Shahrokhshahi’s approach as an embedded frontline volunteer rejects spectacle in favour of proximity, focusing on the rhythms and fragile continuities of daily life shaped by prolonged violence and uncertainty. Lovingly edited by @sarahpespenon , this oversized debossed landscape hardcover is printed in dense tritones and features new poetry by Charlotte Shevchenko-Knight. The book is accompanied by a Special Edition raising funds for @base_ua_ngo , accompanies Shahrokhshahi’s forthcoming feature-length documentary While We Heal, and we will be launching the book in London, New York, Los Angeles and Kyiv in the coming months, starting with @thephotographersgallery on Friday 17 April. Discover this essential response to conflict and community now at loosejoints.biz

Tehran, 2019 From an on going project

On press for WET GROUND! Last week in Belgium we brought to life @ariamark ’s powerful document of life under conflict in Ukraine. In his debut photobook, Shahrokhshahi explores the slippery terrain of Ukrainian identity through an engaged, embedded and poetic approach to social documentary made on the frontlines of Russia’s full-scale invasion, all told in rich tritone images that oscillate between the rhythms and contradictions of daily life fractured by prolonged violence and uncertainty. Edited by @sarahpespenon and with poetry by Charlotte Shevchenko Knight, stay tuned for this ambitious hardcover out in April. Preorder your copy online now.

WET GROUND: Discover a striking look at the slippery terrain of Ukrainian identity through @ariamark ’s engaged, embedded and poetic approach to social documentary made on the frontlines of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Informed by three years of on-the-ground volunteering in Ukraine, Shahrokhshahi moves through the ups and downs of life under siege, critically unpacking the absurdity of war without directly depicting it, while simultaneously evoking the everyday lives, loves and emotions of Ukrainian youth as they carve out moments of resistance, rebellion and joy. Edited by @sarahpespenon , WET GROUND is both brutal and empathetic in its range, and we are thrilled to bring this important work of solidarity and resilience into the world. Head to our website to pre-order this essential new title and save 10% off a signed copy – limited to the first 100 preorders. Out in March!